In the operation of modern, high speed rolling mills, for the production of wire and similar rolled steel products, it is important to provide for the on-line winding of the wire-like material, as it is discharged at high speed and in a hot condition from the forming mill. In this connection, the efficient performance of the rolling mill is dependent, to a large extent, on the performance of the coiling equipment at the discharge end. Any malfunction or other discontinuity in the operation of the coiling device will entail an interruption in the operation of the entire rolling mill. It is therefore important to utilize coiling devices of a highly reliable and efficient nature, and which are capable of a relatively high coiling capacity.
One known mechanism for the purpose is the so-called Edenborn winder, in which the wire-like material is first guided through a revolving pipe and is directed by the pipe into a receiving basket. The Edenborn equipment, however, has certain significant limitations with respect to speed. Thus, with increasing speeds of discharge from the rolling mill, the friction of the material in passing through the pipe may exceed the stability of the still-hot material discharged from the mill. When this occurs, the wire-like material folds up at the entry end of the pipe, requiring the shut down of the entire line while the ensuing mess is cleared.
Another known prior art device is the so-called Garret winder, in which the wire-like material is directed more or less tangentially into a basket-like container, which is being rotated at a speed appropriate to the discharge of the material from the forming mill. The basket-like container usually consists of a bottom plate and a plurality of distributed vertical rods forming the circumference of the container. A combination of gravity and centrifugal force is utilized to form the coil in the container in coiling operations. One significant shortcoming of the Garret-type winder concerns the fact that, with high speed forming mills, the basket-like container must be rotated at high speed, and the centrifugal forces involved cause the vertical rods, forming the circumference of the basket, to bend outward. Consequently, this type of equipment can only be used effectively at relatively lower speed. The utilization of a solid container, while it would avoid the problem caused by centrifugal deflection, introduces difficulties in connection with the coiling operation, and also involves excessive momentum in the rotating container, resulting in unfavorable economical considerations.
Both of the above described, previously known types of equipment have a characteristic disadvantage of providing poor coil density and uniformity, occasioned by the fact that the wire is directed into the receiving container in a more or less random manner. This can result in significant difficulties when unwinding the wire for further processing, as the convolutions of disorderly coils often become entangled.
While it is known to be desirable to wind coils in uniform layers on the exterior of a spool, and winding stands of this nature are well known, there has been no practical such device having an efficient capability of picking up the fresh end of a wire-like material arriving at high speed from a high speed rolling mill. One known device of the last described type includes a winding spool arranged to receive material moving in an axial direction. The means for engaging the fresh end of rapidly moving material includes a clamping device, surrounding one end of the spool, and a guide for engaging the fresh end of material and leading it toward and into the clamping device. This is disclosed in German publication No. 2,027,516. A serious limitation of such equipment, however, is that, when the hot, rapidly moving material is first introduced into the guide means, the axially moving wire-like material engages an axially stationary guide wall. The friction occasioned by this relative movement frequently causes the still hot and relatively unstable wire-like material to fold up, requiring the processing line to be shut down.